Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to lose my way with words…

After nearly four years of inactivity, I’ve decided to start writing on my blog again. Who knows if anyone will actually read this, but in perusing some of my old posts, I remembered why I started writing this in the first place- as a way to chronicle my life, not only for family and friends, but ultimately for myself. I drifted away from my wordpress as I started to settle into life here in Japan. Suddenly, all those crazy things that I had been snapping pictures of and thinking were so ridiculous became normal and I felt that I was running out of interesting things to share. Looking back, I wish that I wouldn’t have given that feeling such credence, but better late than never.

And after seven and a half years, my time in Japan is coming to a close. Stuffing my life into two 50 lb suitcases means that a lot of memories have to be left behind. So, my goal in the next few months with this blog is to reflect on the past seven and a half years. Maybe people will read it, maybe not. But I’m sure that I’ll enjoy the process and that’s good enough for me.

Check out this video Jenny and I made for the very, very, very snowy day here in Nagoya! I have never seen this much snow in Nagoya before. It was horrible! But at least everyone else enjoyed it. I am also including some pictures.

In Japan, you can buy lucky bags on January 2nd. They’re called lucky bags because each store just puts goods in the bag and you have no way of knowing what’s in the bag. You just pay a set price and hope for the best. This year, Jen and I decided to take part in the lucky bag festivities. And we were super lucky! Watch as we open our bags, but really boxes, to find what’s inside!

People actually make these shoes?? I am not even shocked to see someone wearing such awful, awful shoes. This is Japan after all. But what designer actually finished these and thought that they were awesome? Yet another reason why I would never cut it in the fashion world.

I snuck this photo in the grocery store. There was just no way to resist snapping a shot of the ugliest mango I have ever seen in my life, especially considering that this horrible, in my opinion, rotten looking mango costs nearly $20. The saddest thing about this whole thing is that some dumb person will actually buy that mango simply because it costs $20.

Welcome to the sad and frustrating world of produce in Japan. One of the nice things about Japan is that you can only buy fruit in season. When I lived in the states I had no concept that apples were only available in the fall and strawberries in the spring. At the grocery store you can buy whatever you want, whenever you want. Now I live for the fall when all of my favorite fruits are in season. I really like the idea of stocking fruit only when its in season, but sometimes in real life, it can be so frustrating. For example, I love persimmons, but they are most exclusively a fall fruit. I waited all year for persimmon season, but persimmons had a rough year and the harvest this year yielded poor fruit. What a letdown. Now I have to wait a whole year.

The downside to produce only being available in season doesn’t apply so exclusively to vegetables, but you pay a lot of money for veggies when they’re out of season. I have long since stopped batting an eye at paying a dollar per cucumber or three dollars for two small bell peppers. It is just a way of life here. But for whatever reason, I have drawn the proverbial line in the sand concerning avocados. I absolutely will not buy an avocado for more than a dollar. I don’t know why it is, but that is the straw that breaks this camels back.